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The Gorki List Audience Award Goes to the German Film “Oh, This Unspeakable Void”

23.07.2026.

The Gorki List Audience Award of the 33rd European Film Festival Palić has been awarded to Simon Verhoeven’s “Oh, This Unspeakable Void,” which was screened in the Official Selection.

In the film, the protagonist Joachim is unexpectedly accepted into the renowned acting school in Munich and moves into the villa with his grandparents, Inge and Hermann. Between the bizarre challenges of acting school and the eccentric, mostly alcohol-fueled rituals of his grandparents, Joachim tries to find his place in the world – without knowing what role he actually plays in it.

With this year’s 33rd edition, the long-standing partnership between Gorki List and the European Film Festival Palić continues. A loyal supporter of the festival for more than twenty years, Gorki List contributes to the atmosphere and ambiance while encouraging audiences to think, react, and observe the world around them with greater awareness.

The Gorki List Audience Award invites viewers to take an active role in the festival and, from their own perspective, evaluate the films presented in the programme. In this way, alongside the opinions of professional juries, the festival also honors the views of its largest and most dedicated jury – the audience, whose loyalty and enthusiasm have sustained the festival over throughout the years.

Recognizing that audience criteria for choosing the best film often differ from those of professional juries, the European Film Festival and Gorki List invited festival visitors to vote for their favourite film among the many works of European cinema presented at this year's festival. Now in its eleventh consecutive year, the Gorki List Audience Award continues to reflect the preferences of festival audiences. The winning film receives a specially designed statuette.

Previous recipients of the award include the Hungarian film "Kills on Wheels" by Attila Till (2016); "On Body and Soul" by Ildikó Enyedi in (2017); the Belgian-Dutch co-production "Girl” by Lukas Dhont (2018); "Les Miserables" by French director Ladj Ly (2019); "The Name of the People" by Darko Bajić (2020); "Impure Blood – Sin of Ancestors" by Milutin Petrović (2021); "Close" by Lukas Dhont (2022); "The Old Oak" by Ken Loach (2023); “78 Days” by Emilija Gašić (2024); and last year’s winner, “100 Liters of Gold” by Teemu Nikki.